A new development in Lane Cove North is set to provide 16 new social housing units, which will contribute to Lane Cove Council’s goal to build 3,400 new homes by 2029.
The new dwelling named Pinaroo Apartments located at 20-22 Mindarie Street and 30 Pinaroo Place comprises 30 apartments with nine already dedicated to social dwellings, six to specialist disability accommodation units and one for onsite support accommodation. The one-and-two-bedroom spaces aim to deliver high-quality development features for a range of low-income households.
The 14 other apartments will be available to the general public for purchase, but only two are still available on the market.
Blue CHP is the organisation responsible for buying the site from the government as part of its Communities Plus Program. The not-for-profit community housing provider aims to create more accommodation choices for disadvantaged Australians.
The company’s CEO Charles Northcote told ITC that complexes like this are crucial and the housing crisis in Australia needs to be taken more seriously.
“We as a community are still not acting like it’s a crisis, we need to build significantly more social and affordable housing,” he said.
“The percentage in NSW is around about 3.8 per cent, if we head towards seven, that would be a great goal. The more social and affordable housing you build, the more it takes the wind out of the private rental market because you’re taking a whole raft of people who are renting privately into more subsidised housing where they should be. So that helps manage the overall demand.”
The 30 apartments will contribute to Lane Cove Council’s target to have 3,400 new completed homes by 2029. The commitment is a part of the State Government’s goal to introduce additional new homes across NSW in response to the current housing crisis.
Affordable housing is a pressing issue in NSW. The median waiting time to accommodate social housing in Sydney is almost 32 months, with over 56,000 households on the list, according to data from the state government.
The waiting list is facilitated by the state. Community housing organisations such as Blue CHP can provide those registered with accommodation options, such as the Pinaroo apartments.
“Under the social housing element, they’ll [applicants] be registered on the NSW housing waiting list. The specialist disability Blue CHP manages that, and those places are already full. We’ve already got the clients and tenants ready to go in, and then the balance of the building is people who purchase private apartments. So that’s what we call a mixed 10-year development,” Mr Northcote said.
Lane Cove Council told ITC they cannot provide insight on future social housing developments in the area.
However, Mr Northcote said that although he cannot comment specifically on further developments happening in the Lane Cove area due to still being under tender process, he can say the company is looking to do more.
Pinaroo Apartments is located on Pinaroo Place and Mindarie Street, about a six-minute drive to The Canopy and 15 minutes to the CBD.
The project was funded by three community housing services and investor organisations. Housing Australia provided a $21.9 million Affordable Housing Bond Aggregator (AHBA) loan along with support from Homes NSW and not-for-profit social impact investment fund manager, For Purpose Investment Partners.
Residents are expected to be able to move into the complex this October once Blue CHP finalises the occupation certificate and strata registration for the building.
On 27 September 2024 Blue CHP hosted the Hon Clare O’Neil MP, Minister for Housing and Homelessness and Mr Jerome Laxale MP to celebrate the opening of Pinaroo Apartments. Also in attendance were Sophie and Bernard (“Paddy”), two soon-to-be residents in the new specialist disability accommodation (SDA) homes, who were able to share their stories and tour their new homes.
“It was great to have Sophie and Paddy attend and visit their future homes. We were proud to host a meeting with the minister where they could share their stories. Most of our SDA residents have had complex multi-year journeys to find an SDA home to suit their needs. It was touching to see the minister arrive with an unexpected housewarming gift for both residents to celebrate the occasion. We all felt the joy of the moment; this was a day when we could all come together and celebrate the real human outcome of our efforts – delivering safe and secure homes. We are so excited for Sophie, Paddy and our other residents to move in,” said Michelle Northcote, BlueCHP Limited, National Manager – Disability Housing
Our Cover photo is From left: Charles Northcote (CEO, BlueCHP), Hon Clare O’Neil MP, Bernard “Paddy” and Mr Jerome Laxale MP – Source www.bluechp.com.au
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